Comments: 1 Edit
On Opera Librettos
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 23, 2007 - 07:57 AM
On Opera Librettos Literature is too big a subject for this page so I offer the following information. The opera libretto is a form of literature that has fallen from its once (revered) position in the art world. At one time Wagner publish his librettos separately form his music and they had public readings to great acclaim (though they are not so prized today) . Many poets of past also wrote opera librettos. The stage play and the opera libretto were very similar entities but most are forgotten. It is only through the music that most operas are remembered, with the exception of Faust. Opera was created, or reinvented by a group of Italian music lovers, the Florentine Cameratta, who knew that Ancient Greek drama was sung, not spoken. They developed a new style of singing (sing-speech) called parlando, what later became recitative. The parlando would allow singers to become characters who would act while they sang. • On the practical side a libretto has 2 parts the senario and the text. • A libretto can be original though they are mostly adaptations of other works or based on fairy tales, folklore, etc. • The scenario is about the scenes, characters and what will happen in each scene . • The text is what the characters and the chorus will actually sing. • "Senarization" is common to all literature including plays, screenplays and musicals. There are film directors who only work with scenarios as they have their actors improvise the actual text. (i.e. Topsey Turvy). This could work in opera as well it worked on Broadway with a Chorus Line. • The traditional operatic text rhymes just as the poetry of that time did and as our popular music still does.. The conventional approach to opera is to adapt a well known story, keep some of the plot, add or condense as needed. The scenario can stay close to the original but the singing text is usually altered.- as it must rhyme -tends to change a lot. Wagner changed the end of Lohengrin. He has Elisabeth die for dramatic effect and to create closure. Stories are often adapted for opera. Many of these stories and plays are mere trifles so we hardly care if they are changed. Usually the change and the addition of music is for the better. We consider a libretto good when it keeps the spark of the original story alive. Consider the many operatic versions of Faust and Shakespeare. There was a time, and a style, of opera when their wasn't much interest in the story at all, just in the Olympic nature of the power and coloratura of the singers. In this case the Aria text had to express a strong emotion and have plenty of open vowels. Modernist writers: Joyce, Pound, Hemingway, Steinbeck, to name a few, create new challenges for opera creation. Their text is so important and individual that to adapt it in a convention way does violence to the writers art. The Grapes of Wrath made a fine film yet all of the prose was cut out, the essence that made it unique as a work of art.
Comments: 0 Edit
counterpoint? -repy to new music box
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 22, 2007 - 11:40 AM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
Well, I guess I'm out, and loving it!
When your contrapuntal, you can’t be disgruntled! I wonder? "Besides vindicating my long-held suspicion that counterpoint is totally overrated, .."
Randy, I wonder if this is why composers don't teach theory? Phil's page Phil's page
Comments: 0 Edit
new music box etc.
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 21, 2007 - 08:47 AM
I’m not Philip Fried, but I play him on TV. My point was not about hypnosis but about those folks who come to concerts and disturb others because they have their mind elsewhere for the duration. Not as an escape from the music mind you, but because of short attention spans. So look deep into my blog, look deeper, deeper, your mind is getting focused …so focused; you are in a state of utter relaxation yet awareness. You want, no need, to go to a new music concert pay cash and listen attentively. You will not leave even the music make you sleepy so sleepy. At the final applause you will applaud politely, find the composers and give them each $10,000 dollars. You will then wake up refreshed and remember everything.
I was going to say that I don’t use my real name because I’m a wanted man. Since I happen to be a composer who is going to buy that excuse?
Comments: 0 Edit
newmusic box response
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 13, 2007 - 05:45 PM
How to listen, or not!
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
On the other hand I was at a symphony concert and the women next to me kept searching through her purse looking for stuff for about 10 minuets-not taking anything out mind you -- just poking around it making distracting sounds. I wish she had left the concert, since she was not prepared to listen or care if others did. I think that if its not a professional situation there is nothing wrong with leaving a concert or a movie if you don't want to hear it (and this isn't the only reason why people leave concerts). Distracting or disrupting other who want to listen is another issue and I am against that. Personally, I would rather have people leave a performance of mine instead of them falling asleep or thinking "did I leave the bedroom light on?"
Phil's Page
Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 8:39:31 PM
Comments: 0 Edit
newmusic box response
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 13, 2007 - 05:45 PM
How to listen, or not!
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
On the other hand I was at a symphony concert and the women next to me kept searching through her purse looking for stuff for about 10 minuets-not taking anything out mind you -- just poking around it making distracting sounds. I wish she had left the concert, since she was not prepared to listen or care if others did. I think that if its not a professional situation there is nothing wrong with leaving a concert or a movie if you don't want to hear it (and this isn't the only reason why people leave concerts). Distracting or disrupting other who want to listen is another issue and I am against that. Personally, I would rather have people leave a performance of mine instead of them falling asleep or thinking "did I leave the bedroom light on?"
Phil's Page
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By: Philip Fried Date: Mar 23, 2007 - 07:25 AM
thought
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
There is a certain difficulty inherent in describing musical "sounds" with words alone. If I am hearing you correctly Colin I think that your saying that your musical rhetoric, for all its wonderful content, is not "brilliant" enough. Brilliance is something that is generally understood immediately as its easy to notice. Brilliance is a fine thing but its not the only thing that makes a composition interesting. To be known as a "brilliant orchestrator," for example, is a back handed complement. Phil's Page
Comments: -1 Edit
responce to galen brown
By: Philip Fried Date: Mar 15, 2007 - 08:36 PM
pander handling
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Dear Mr. Brown: I didn't realize that the best way to solve a problem, in this case pandering, was simply to define it out of existence.
I mean no disrespect, I just strongly disagree.
Phil's Page
Comments: 0 Edit
newmusicbox replies
By: Philip Fried Date: Mar 15, 2007 - 08:21 AM
Some more quotes and an explanation! By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
No one ever lost money underestimating the taste of the American public –P.T. Barum Never give a sucker an even break etc. etc. etc.
On a serious note, I might use steady beat for educational purposes. In this way new and challenging musical concepts might be approached and understood individually rather than all at once.
Anyway...
Phil's page Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 2:32:02 PM
Eschews on the other foot By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
“Such a generalization would be equally erroneous if applied to music that intentionally eschews steady beats.”
Dear Frank: I don’t seem to understand your negative comments on my educational quote, which I think is neutral, and stands quite well. For example; I have used "Opera Trance" to introduce 1-4th graders to the operatic voice before I give them the "real" thing.
Oh, I said, “steady beat” what I meant was “dance beats”- but the concepts are similar—taking something familiar as a bridge into the unfamiliar.
Rather it seems that you are responding to my other observation that implies that adding a “dance beat”, to the music in question is dummying down and can also be a gateway to popular success.
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
Ok Frank, I understand but lets go back to Colin's point.
"it's seductive to think that I can gain instant credibility with ordinary listeners by dropping some phat 808s. "
I'm afraid that there are already some composers trying to do just that - and thats what my Barnum quote was all about.
the old switcheroo By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
“The ability to improvise with a steady beat is no more or less challenging than to improvise without one.”
True Corey, but the point here is not what is challenging for the musician—but what is challenging for the general audience.
perhaps this topic needs more refection By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
Colin I thought you were talking about dance beats (which tend to be very steady) in particular. What you say is true about “ the distinction between "no beat" and "a complex and investigative use of rhythm." The questions about rhythm and meter and the approaches of composers to these issues are many, various, and endless. Yet for me it’s the results that count (because the results are the music )-- not so much the theory or the ideas behind them which can confuse as well as illuminate. For example; a lot of composers use precompositional plans that look very similar but sound very different. I have some stuff about rhythm on my page.
Its great to hear from composers who are trying to find their own sound by way of their own musical backgrounds. That is the way to go. Also, can great music come from a dance beat? Why not? Yet, The question of pandering has, and will always, remain with us. Phil's page
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
Dear Frank: Thank you for your personal comments--that took some courage I think.
Comments: 0 Edit
responce to Colin
By: Philip Fried Date: Mar 14, 2007 - 11:20 AM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com "is it unethical to take advantage of their ignorance (in the most nonjudgmental sense) and cultural conditioning (in the most judgmental sense) to do so?"
Colin, the wages of sin is money. Or, perhaps you would like to meet my very successful friend Faust?
Comments: 0 Edit
By: Philip Fried Date: Mar 12, 2007 - 11:36 AM
“How do composers tell audiences what's on our minds when our definition of music differs so dramatically from theirs?” Colin its true that commercial music in a commercial society rules—but wait, people are also very accepting of the unfamiliar if it is put into the right context. Many successful concerts are based on the proper context (ok, spin) for the works included. Also, many folks who say they hate “classical music” don’t mind similar stuff when they hear in films—they don’t even realize that it is modern or post-modern classical at that. I’m hopeful. “…How can we perform our duty as society' conscience if we can't communicate with society?” I’m not sure of your meaning here—do you mean because most folks don’t listen or go to concerts or are you saying that “concertgoers” don’t care for the unfamiliar? . If the unfamiliar is the crux here then find a way to reach out. Don’t leave the job to others. An additional reality check for us composers is the financial paradigm change from the traditional fat/thin times, to a new paradigm where it’s always fat for some always thin for others. Anyway all you can do is your
Comments: 0 Edit
"Jeering at elders is an important right of passage for young composers. "
By: Philip Fried Date: Mar 8, 2007 - 10:18 AM
"Jeering at elders is an important right of passage for young composers. " I wonder how Brahms fits into this. Perhaps he was never young. Anyway, if jeering at ones elders is just an expected "right of passage" then there is no real meaning to it at all. Some folks continue to jeer all their lives. On another topic, Aaron Copland was one composer who did great things for the younger generation of composers. Who has taken his place? Phil's page
Comments: 0 Edit
Busoni
By: Philip Fried Date: Mar 3, 2007 - 05:52 PM
Busoni-I think is the one major influence on composers today that everyone overlooks. Even more than neo-classical Stravinsky, and pre-dating him, Busoni composed music that was emotionally cool and objective. Composers from Carter too Glass fall under this spell.
Comments: 1 Edit
history etc.
By: Philip Fried Date: Mar 3, 2007 - 05:47 PM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
History also holds great sway when we talk about music. Looking back at Belinda Reynolds's Walden School love-fest, and the gushing responses left by readers, all of this makes me wonder if we classical music types place way too much emphasis on history.
Dear Randy:
I don't think its a question of too much history, rather its a question of whose history we accept for our own.
Oh, I did not post on that particular "blog".
Phil's Page
Friday, March 02, 2007
Comments: 1 Edit
a thought
By: Philip Fried Date: Mar 1, 2007 - 10:16 AM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com “The famous "Midwestern orchestra sound" is a good example of the former. More than one observer has noticed that a great deal of large-ensemble music from the Great Plains states is, to quote Galen Brown, "really well orchestrated," "quasi-tonal," and "as big and loud as possible." A problem that is not addressed here is the difference between those works that are performed in; University sponsored concerts, public institutional concerts, grant related concerts- readings and alike (some of which are related to these other types)- and self-produced concerts and those works that are not. This seems to be a proscribed world, but how can you discuss the many non-tonal Midwestern symphonies that have not been performed? I suggest that the next time you see a film think about what’s just outside the frame-the stuff the director doesn’t want you to see. Phil's Page
Comments: 0 Edit
reply newmusicbox
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 23, 2007 - 07:46 PM
I don't get it?
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
"I don't think we can make any blanket statements that can confirm what a California, New York, Illinois or any other state composer is. "
The only blanket statement, that I can make is that they are good in bed. I use one all the time. Most of the composers I know use them too.
I hope that dosen't offend anyone.
Beach, Blanket--Bingo!
counterpoint?
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Well, I guess I'm out, and loving it!
When your contrapuntal, you can’t be disgruntled!
Phil's page
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Oh, Corey, I just love it when you speak French.
Phil's Page
Comments: 1 Edit
On Opera Librettos
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 23, 2007 - 07:57 AM
On Opera Librettos Literature is too big a subject for this page so I offer the following information. The opera libretto is a form of literature that has fallen from its once (revered) position in the art world. At one time Wagner publish his librettos separately form his music and they had public readings to great acclaim (though they are not so prized today) . Many poets of past also wrote opera librettos. The stage play and the opera libretto were very similar entities but most are forgotten. It is only through the music that most operas are remembered, with the exception of Faust. Opera was created, or reinvented by a group of Italian music lovers, the Florentine Cameratta, who knew that Ancient Greek drama was sung, not spoken. They developed a new style of singing (sing-speech) called parlando, what later became recitative. The parlando would allow singers to become characters who would act while they sang. • On the practical side a libretto has 2 parts the senario and the text. • A libretto can be original though they are mostly adaptations of other works or based on fairy tales, folklore, etc. • The scenario is about the scenes, characters and what will happen in each scene . • The text is what the characters and the chorus will actually sing. • "Senarization" is common to all literature including plays, screenplays and musicals. There are film directors who only work with scenarios as they have their actors improvise the actual text. (i.e. Topsey Turvy). This could work in opera as well it worked on Broadway with a Chorus Line. • The traditional operatic text rhymes just as the poetry of that time did and as our popular music still does.. The conventional approach to opera is to adapt a well known story, keep some of the plot, add or condense as needed. The scenario can stay close to the original but the singing text is usually altered.- as it must rhyme -tends to change a lot. Wagner changed the end of Lohengrin. He has Elisabeth die for dramatic effect and to create closure. Stories are often adapted for opera. Many of these stories and plays are mere trifles so we hardly care if they are changed. Usually the change and the addition of music is for the better. We consider a libretto good when it keeps the spark of the original story alive. Consider the many operatic versions of Faust and Shakespeare. There was a time, and a style, of opera when their wasn't much interest in the story at all, just in the Olympic nature of the power and coloratura of the singers. In this case the Aria text had to express a strong emotion and have plenty of open vowels. Modernist writers: Joyce, Pound, Hemingway, Steinbeck, to name a few, create new challenges for opera creation. Their text is so important and individual that to adapt it in a convention way does violence to the writers art. The Grapes of Wrath made a fine film yet all of the prose was cut out, the essence that made it unique as a work of art.
Comments: 0 Edit
counterpoint? -repy to new music box
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 22, 2007 - 11:40 AM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
Well, I guess I'm out, and loving it!
When your contrapuntal, you can’t be disgruntled! I wonder? "Besides vindicating my long-held suspicion that counterpoint is totally overrated, .."
Randy, I wonder if this is why composers don't teach theory? Phil's page Phil's page
Comments: 0 Edit
new music box etc.
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 21, 2007 - 08:47 AM
I’m not Philip Fried, but I play him on TV. My point was not about hypnosis but about those folks who come to concerts and disturb others because they have their mind elsewhere for the duration. Not as an escape from the music mind you, but because of short attention spans. So look deep into my blog, look deeper, deeper, your mind is getting focused …so focused; you are in a state of utter relaxation yet awareness. You want, no need, to go to a new music concert pay cash and listen attentively. You will not leave even the music make you sleepy so sleepy. At the final applause you will applaud politely, find the composers and give them each $10,000 dollars. You will then wake up refreshed and remember everything.
I was going to say that I don’t use my real name because I’m a wanted man. Since I happen to be a composer who is going to buy that excuse?
Comments: 0 Edit
newmusic box response
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 13, 2007 - 05:45 PM
How to listen, or not!
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
On the other hand I was at a symphony concert and the women next to me kept searching through her purse looking for stuff for about 10 minuets-not taking anything out mind you -- just poking around it making distracting sounds. I wish she had left the concert, since she was not prepared to listen or care if others did. I think that if its not a professional situation there is nothing wrong with leaving a concert or a movie if you don't want to hear it (and this isn't the only reason why people leave concerts). Distracting or disrupting other who want to listen is another issue and I am against that. Personally, I would rather have people leave a performance of mine instead of them falling asleep or thinking "did I leave the bedroom light on?"
Phil's Page
Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 8:39:31 PM
Comments: 0 Edit
newmusic box response
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 13, 2007 - 05:45 PM
How to listen, or not!
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
On the other hand I was at a symphony concert and the women next to me kept searching through her purse looking for stuff for about 10 minuets-not taking anything out mind you -- just poking around it making distracting sounds. I wish she had left the concert, since she was not prepared to listen or care if others did. I think that if its not a professional situation there is nothing wrong with leaving a concert or a movie if you don't want to hear it (and this isn't the only reason why people leave concerts). Distracting or disrupting other who want to listen is another issue and I am against that. Personally, I would rather have people leave a performance of mine instead of them falling asleep or thinking "did I leave the bedroom light on?"
Phil's Page
Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 8:39:31 PM
Comments: 0 Edit
Response to Belinda
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 13, 2007 - 08:24 AM
s called survival.
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
Perhaps you are not aware of just how precarious arts education funding is in the United States. Since arts educators are not in charge of the school districts or NCLB we don’t make the policies that rule us. We are forced to prove again and again our value and worth in order to keep our jobs alive. Here we preach to the choir but the rest of the time we deal with administrators, principals, and political leaders who can be uninformed and unhelpful. Phil's Page
Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 10:49:55 AM
Comments: 0 Edit
Fair play --newmusicbox
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 03:53 PM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Dear Alex, if I can call you that, it seems that what you really want is a little American "fair play" in the critical outlook of Germany. It would be ok for German critics to pan Mr. Adams and those like him if, like you, they did it on a case by case basis not as a lock step monolith. I can respect that. The question is, and since I am not a German (although I do have the Austrian Jewish name), is this; what is the perception of American music critics in Germany, Europe and the outside world? Is it simular? I do know that many successful European composers have made careers and home for themselves in the U.S., and not so many Americans in Europe. I also thought that no one was a profit in their own land. Well go figure. Phil's page
Comments: 0 Edit
defending Nono--newmusicbox.org
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 02:39 PM
Wait a minute!
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Let me get this straight-Menotti just died and the best you have to offer by way of an obituary for him is to slam Nono? ??? Are we heartless or what?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007, 10:28:33 AM
quoting Mr. Holland
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
The word "project" does not imply a just a concert. Again, this is pure speculation, but this would imply something like an evening of several 1 Act operas in which each composer would contribute something. This is a little more personal than a mere concert program. As I am not an historian I also don't know much about the personal relations between these two composers while they were living.
Anyway this is not the time to remember what these composers were against, but what they were for. Phil's page
Wednesday, February 07, 2007, 10:44:02 AM
Comments: 1 Edit
defending Nono-newmusicbox.org
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 02:38 PM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
It’s a natural assumption that all composers want all the performance they can get and all performances are, of course, wonderful and exactly what the composer asked for. I worked with Nono briefly so I know this much about him--that he was a very political composer in every sense of the word. I may not agree with his decision (based on the information you furnished) as I prefer a program with a wide variety of music, but to censor ones own music is not really the same as “throwing ones weight around.” How many performing groups have rules, written and unwritten, about what kind of music they will and will not program? As a protest Ralph Shapey forbid his music from being performed for a time. Sometimes the veto is the only power composers have. Phil's page
Tuesday, February 06, 2007, 2:32:46 PM
Comments: 0 Edit
too much ipod?
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 02:36 PM
on topic
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Copland also spoke against casual listening or turning music into the background for something else more important. I find that as I grow older I listen to recorded music less and less though my wife and me are very fond of playing piano duets together. "The Family that plays together stays.. …" did I say that? Phil
Thursday, February 08, 2007, 2:03:47 PM
Comments: 0 Edit
a reply to Alex Ross
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 02:35 PM
Do I have to be tonal?
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
“my complaint about contemporary Austro-German music has to do with the self-imposed limits on language, the still powerful taboo against tonality.” A Minnesota composer just back from Latvia had a similar complaint. It seems that under Soviet “influence” composers there were not allowed to compose non-tonal music of any type and now that that influence was gone there was the natural reaction --everyone dumped tonality. Atonality was the forbidden fruit. Since I have not heard the music in question I can’t comment of the degree or type of reaction we are talking about. The world of the non-tonal is a huge umbrella encompassing many different styles some of them seemingly very consonant. Obviously, politics plays a much greater role in European music than in the United States, especial where nationalism and state support are a given. On the other hand aren’t you implying that to be an independent composer you have to be “tonal”? Isn't that just the same thing in a different guise? Can't I just be tonal in my spare time? Phil's page
Comments: 0 Edit
some post modern humor
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 08:07 PM
some humor
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Would a parcel-post composer be an overnight sensation? Would a post-toasty composer make us feel all warm and fuzzy? I apologize in advance. Phil
Tuesday, February 06, 2007, 11:33:05 AM
Comments: 0 Edit
Opera
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 03:03 PM
Phil's resume stuffer
Ok singers! I just composed an opera titled;
"Important Opera Houses in Europe and the United States."-It has 2 parts
The Prima Donna and Major Roles
So if you chose to be in my opera you can truthfully write in your resume that you Performed:
Major Roles in Important Opera Houses in Europe and the United States!
or
The Prima Donna in Important Opera Houses in Europe and the United States!
The score is available for perusal
Instrumentalists take heart!
I have many solo parts in my Opera!
Comments: 0 Edit
Waste of time
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 08:04 AM
Why worry about them others?
A question was asked recently about the old uptown/downtown new music split and what if anything it meant. The theory that there are (only) 2 mutually exclusive music scenes (both in New York City) are on the face of it ridicules, and mostly counter productive. However many folks think that this is true, but not as many as those people who want it to be true because they have a vested interest.
Lets review the generalizations:
Uptown
Downtown
Old fashioned and informed by history
New and unprecedented, innovative
Serious
Fun
Establishment
Anti establishment
Artificial
Real
Square
Hip
Academic –disconnected from audience
Folk—audience comes first
Institutional
Independent
Traditional
Experimental
Powerful
Oppressed
Exclusive
Inclusive
Insiders
Outsiders
Intellectual /dry
Emotional/exciting
Accepts serial music
Rejects serial music
Rejects popular and world music
Inclusive of all styles except the above
White Male Dominated
Not!
Rich upper crusties
Just plain folks
Republican
Green
Success oriented- money
Art oriented-love
12 semi tones only please
All kinds of tuning
them-The monolith
us- The Other
Formal
Informal
Old jazz
Beyond Jazz
Great music sounds great
great music must look good too!
Blessed by Babbitt
Blessed by Cage
programing
mashing
institutional
entrepreneurial
Educated
The "street"
Is there something to this?
A cursory look at these generalizations shows enough holes in the logic strings to make a Swiss cheese. Also, downtown sort of looks something like your typical Coke/Pepsi/Sprite advertising campaign. Obviously, in a commercial society art needs to advertise to appeal to its target audience. So what is this all about? Is it simply the new money audience verses the old money? Possibly. Is it an innocent way of “branding” a sound? Is it just a bunch of Alpha Males and Alpha Females gone wild?
Perhaps it's this -- many people, and composers in particular, seem to be hurt by the arts “system” that they don’t control; we don't get the respect we deserve in this country. When the big job or performance we wanted doesn’t come as planned, some of us need to assign blame. All composers fail at times, no matter who they are. The question is: what is your breaking point? I am always surprised at these self-described oppressed folks, who careers are unimpeded. They have big jobs, major awards, etc., but obviously there is a moral high ground to be had as an oppressed person that no amount of success or high position can gratify. It is not a surprise that there are always people who know how to take advantage of that discontent. Those who propose the downtown/uptown schism are saying "see, we are the real avant-garde.".
More wastes of time
Worrying about the unfair competition:
Schnitzel Balm's Law:
In any educational institution an unworthy will be elevated for a term to an exalted position. This happens because teachers have the power to do so, and because the student(s) are oh so grateful. The less worthy the more grateful. The crash and burn of unsustainable expectations are not the teachers concern.
The Schnitzel Balm Syndrome:
If you are a "chosen one" enjoy the ride but remember that you are skating on quicksand. For a quick reality check please see Simon Cowell.
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Comments: 0 Edit
Where did the great composers go?
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 08:01 AM
There was a time when we understood that in every generation there was a great composer, but that time seems long gone. There have been many theories about why composers are so absent from the public “scene.” One question that could be asked is this; what did the "great composer" do for society and who if anyone now fills that role? I propose that these composers functioned as the ombudsman of the imagination. Beethoven was one of them, perhaps the first of them, and for many he still fills that role. He understood something about our human condition that we knew about ourselves internally but that only he could seem to express to the world. People acknowledged it.
Some generalizations:
Beethoven is not thought of as self interested or careerist.
Even though he was not a leader in a composer’s society or guild, there was no shame or loss of status for other living composers who supported the notion that Beethoven (alive) was a better composer then they were.
His world view was not narrow.
Though he was not a writer of speeches, he maintained a public life.
He did not use gamesmanship or personal politics for advantage or to maintain his success.
He tried to make a difference in society with his music.
I'm afraid that the imagination is no longer honored in American society as we have replaced it with media. For every book we now know what every character looks like and how they speak-- and they just happen to talk and act like us. The popular music cartel (also part of the media)has managed to steal some of art music's thunder by focusing on its own alleged integrity and its many charitable works (though they have only recently been interested in music education). Though it is true that popular song can be a point of political galvanization, its the words that are the focus more than the music. Folk songs have no composer. Today, the artistic and financial survival of so many composers is predicated on working in a very narrow context. So they must reject having any appeal outside their own musical "ghetto."
Anyway, even if we all had open and unencumbered imaginations this doesn't sound like any composer we know today.
Your blog can be viewed at http://classicallounge.com/Philmusic/blogs
On Opera Librettos
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 23, 2007 - 07:57 AM
On Opera Librettos Literature is too big a subject for this page so I offer the following information. The opera libretto is a form of literature that has fallen from its once (revered) position in the art world. At one time Wagner publish his librettos separately form his music and they had public readings to great acclaim (though they are not so prized today) . Many poets of past also wrote opera librettos. The stage play and the opera libretto were very similar entities but most are forgotten. It is only through the music that most operas are remembered, with the exception of Faust. Opera was created, or reinvented by a group of Italian music lovers, the Florentine Cameratta, who knew that Ancient Greek drama was sung, not spoken. They developed a new style of singing (sing-speech) called parlando, what later became recitative. The parlando would allow singers to become characters who would act while they sang. • On the practical side a libretto has 2 parts the senario and the text. • A libretto can be original though they are mostly adaptations of other works or based on fairy tales, folklore, etc. • The scenario is about the scenes, characters and what will happen in each scene . • The text is what the characters and the chorus will actually sing. • "Senarization" is common to all literature including plays, screenplays and musicals. There are film directors who only work with scenarios as they have their actors improvise the actual text. (i.e. Topsey Turvy). This could work in opera as well it worked on Broadway with a Chorus Line. • The traditional operatic text rhymes just as the poetry of that time did and as our popular music still does.. The conventional approach to opera is to adapt a well known story, keep some of the plot, add or condense as needed. The scenario can stay close to the original but the singing text is usually altered.- as it must rhyme -tends to change a lot. Wagner changed the end of Lohengrin. He has Elisabeth die for dramatic effect and to create closure. Stories are often adapted for opera. Many of these stories and plays are mere trifles so we hardly care if they are changed. Usually the change and the addition of music is for the better. We consider a libretto good when it keeps the spark of the original story alive. Consider the many operatic versions of Faust and Shakespeare. There was a time, and a style, of opera when their wasn't much interest in the story at all, just in the Olympic nature of the power and coloratura of the singers. In this case the Aria text had to express a strong emotion and have plenty of open vowels. Modernist writers: Joyce, Pound, Hemingway, Steinbeck, to name a few, create new challenges for opera creation. Their text is so important and individual that to adapt it in a convention way does violence to the writers art. The Grapes of Wrath made a fine film yet all of the prose was cut out, the essence that made it unique as a work of art.
Comments: -1 Edit
counterpoint? -repy to new music box
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 22, 2007 - 11:40 AM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
Well, I guess I'm out, and loving it!
When your contrapuntal, you can’t be disgruntled! I wonder? "Besides vindicating my long-held suspicion that counterpoint is totally overrated, .."
Randy, I wonder if this is why composers don't teach theory? Phil's page Phil's page
Comments: 0 Edit
new music box etc.
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 21, 2007 - 08:47 AM
I’m not Philip Fried, but I play him on TV. My point was not about hypnosis but about those folks who come to concerts and disturb others because they have their mind elsewhere for the duration. Not as an escape from the music mind you, but because of short attention spans. So look deep into my blog, look deeper, deeper, your mind is getting focused …so focused; you are in a state of utter relaxation yet awareness. You want, no need, to go to a new music concert pay cash and listen attentively. You will not leave even the music make you sleepy so sleepy. At the final applause you will applaud politely, find the composers and give them each $10,000 dollars. You will then wake up refreshed and remember everything.
I was going to say that I don’t use my real name because I’m a wanted man. Since I happen to be a composer who is going to buy that excuse?
Comments: 0 Edit
newmusic box response
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 13, 2007 - 05:45 PM
How to listen, or not!
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
On the other hand I was at a symphony concert and the women next to me kept searching through her purse looking for stuff for about 10 minuets-not taking anything out mind you -- just poking around it making distracting sounds. I wish she had left the concert, since she was not prepared to listen or care if others did. I think that if its not a professional situation there is nothing wrong with leaving a concert or a movie if you don't want to hear it (and this isn't the only reason why people leave concerts). Distracting or disrupting other who want to listen is another issue and I am against that. Personally, I would rather have people leave a performance of mine instead of them falling asleep or thinking "did I leave the bedroom light on?"
Phil's Page
Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 8:39:31 PM
Comments: 0 Edit
newmusic box response
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 13, 2007 - 05:45 PM
How to listen, or not!
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
On the other hand I was at a symphony concert and the women next to me kept searching through her purse looking for stuff for about 10 minuets-not taking anything out mind you -- just poking around it making distracting sounds. I wish she had left the concert, since she was not prepared to listen or care if others did. I think that if its not a professional situation there is nothing wrong with leaving a concert or a movie if you don't want to hear it (and this isn't the only reason why people leave concerts). Distracting or disrupting other who want to listen is another issue and I am against that. Personally, I would rather have people leave a performance of mine instead of them falling asleep or thinking "did I leave the bedroom light on?"
Phil's Page
Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 8:39:31 PM
Comments: 0 Edit
Response to Belinda
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 13, 2007 - 08:24 AM
s called survival.
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com
Perhaps you are not aware of just how precarious arts education funding is in the United States. Since arts educators are not in charge of the school districts or NCLB we don’t make the policies that rule us. We are forced to prove again and again our value and worth in order to keep our jobs alive. Here we preach to the choir but the rest of the time we deal with administrators, principals, and political leaders who can be uninformed and unhelpful. Phil's Page
Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 10:49:55 AM
Comments: 0 Edit
Fair play --newmusicbox
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 03:53 PM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Dear Alex, if I can call you that, it seems that what you really want is a little American "fair play" in the critical outlook of Germany. It would be ok for German critics to pan Mr. Adams and those like him if, like you, they did it on a case by case basis not as a lock step monolith. I can respect that. The question is, and since I am not a German (although I do have the Austrian Jewish name), is this; what is the perception of American music critics in Germany, Europe and the outside world? Is it simular? I do know that many successful European composers have made careers and home for themselves in the U.S., and not so many Americans in Europe. I also thought that no one was a profit in their own land. Well go figure. Phil's page
Comments: 0 Edit
defending Nono--newmusicbox.org
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 02:39 PM
Wait a minute!
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Let me get this straight-Menotti just died and the best you have to offer by way of an obituary for him is to slam Nono? ??? Are we heartless or what?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007, 10:28:33 AM
quoting Mr. Holland
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
The word "project" does not imply a just a concert. Again, this is pure speculation, but this would imply something like an evening of several 1 Act operas in which each composer would contribute something. This is a little more personal than a mere concert program. As I am not an historian I also don't know much about the personal relations between these two composers while they were living.
Anyway this is not the time to remember what these composers were against, but what they were for. Phil's page
Wednesday, February 07, 2007, 10:44:02 AM
Comments: 1 Edit
defending Nono-newmusicbox.org
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 02:38 PM
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
It’s a natural assumption that all composers want all the performance they can get and all performances are, of course, wonderful and exactly what the composer asked for. I worked with Nono briefly so I know this much about him--that he was a very political composer in every sense of the word. I may not agree with his decision (based on the information you furnished) as I prefer a program with a wide variety of music, but to censor ones own music is not really the same as “throwing ones weight around.” How many performing groups have rules, written and unwritten, about what kind of music they will and will not program? As a protest Ralph Shapey forbid his music from being performed for a time. Sometimes the veto is the only power composers have. Phil's page
Tuesday, February 06, 2007, 2:32:46 PM
Comments: 0 Edit
too much ipod?
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 02:36 PM
on topic
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Copland also spoke against casual listening or turning music into the background for something else more important. I find that as I grow older I listen to recorded music less and less though my wife and me are very fond of playing piano duets together. "The Family that plays together stays.. …" did I say that? Phil
Thursday, February 08, 2007, 2:03:47 PM
Comments: 0 Edit
a reply to Alex Ross
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 02:35 PM
Do I have to be tonal?
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
“my complaint about contemporary Austro-German music has to do with the self-imposed limits on language, the still powerful taboo against tonality.” A Minnesota composer just back from Latvia had a similar complaint. It seems that under Soviet “influence” composers there were not allowed to compose non-tonal music of any type and now that that influence was gone there was the natural reaction --everyone dumped tonality. Atonality was the forbidden fruit. Since I have not heard the music in question I can’t comment of the degree or type of reaction we are talking about. The world of the non-tonal is a huge umbrella encompassing many different styles some of them seemingly very consonant. Obviously, politics plays a much greater role in European music than in the United States, especial where nationalism and state support are a given. On the other hand aren’t you implying that to be an independent composer you have to be “tonal”? Isn't that just the same thing in a different guise? Can't I just be tonal in my spare time? Phil's page
Comments: 0 Edit
some post modern humor
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 08:07 PM
some humor
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Would a parcel-post composer be an overnight sensation? Would a post-toasty composer make us feel all warm and fuzzy? I apologize in advance. Phil
Tuesday, February 06, 2007, 11:33:05 AM
Comments: 0 Edit
Opera
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 03:03 PM
Phil's resume stuffer
Ok singers! I just composed an opera titled;
"Important Opera Houses in Europe and the United States."-It has 2 parts
The Prima Donna and Major Roles
So if you chose to be in my opera you can truthfully write in your resume that you Performed:
Major Roles in Important Opera Houses in Europe and the United States!
or
The Prima Donna in Important Opera Houses in Europe and the United States!
The score is available for perusal
Instrumentalists take heart!
I have many solo parts in my Opera!
Comments: 0 Edit
Waste of time
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 08:04 AM
Why worry about them others?
A question was asked recently about the old uptown/downtown new music split and what if anything it meant. The theory that there are (only) 2 mutually exclusive music scenes (both in New York City) are on the face of it ridicules, and mostly counter productive. However many folks think that this is true, but not as many as those people who want it to be true because they have a vested interest.
Lets review the generalizations:
Uptown
Downtown
Old fashioned and informed by history
New and unprecedented, innovative
Serious
Fun
Establishment
Anti establishment
Artificial
Real
Square
Hip
Academic –disconnected from audience
Folk—audience comes first
Institutional
Independent
Traditional
Experimental
Powerful
Oppressed
Exclusive
Inclusive
Insiders
Outsiders
Intellectual /dry
Emotional/exciting
Accepts serial music
Rejects serial music
Rejects popular and world music
Inclusive of all styles except the above
White Male Dominated
Not!
Rich upper crusties
Just plain folks
Republican
Green
Success oriented- money
Art oriented-love
12 semi tones only please
All kinds of tuning
them-The monolith
us- The Other
Formal
Informal
Old jazz
Beyond Jazz
Great music sounds great
great music must look good too!
Blessed by Babbitt
Blessed by Cage
programing
mashing
institutional
entrepreneurial
Educated
The "street"
Is there something to this?
A cursory look at these generalizations shows enough holes in the logic strings to make a Swiss cheese. Also, downtown sort of looks something like your typical Coke/Pepsi/Sprite advertising campaign. Obviously, in a commercial society art needs to advertise to appeal to its target audience. So what is this all about? Is it simply the new money audience verses the old money? Possibly. Is it an innocent way of “branding” a sound? Is it just a bunch of Alpha Males and Alpha Females gone wild?
Perhaps it's this -- many people, and composers in particular, seem to be hurt by the arts “system” that they don’t control; we don't get the respect we deserve in this country. When the big job or performance we wanted doesn’t come as planned, some of us need to assign blame. All composers fail at times, no matter who they are. The question is: what is your breaking point? I am always surprised at these self-described oppressed folks, who careers are unimpeded. They have big jobs, major awards, etc., but obviously there is a moral high ground to be had as an oppressed person that no amount of success or high position can gratify. It is not a surprise that there are always people who know how to take advantage of that discontent. Those who propose the downtown/uptown schism are saying "see, we are the real avant-garde.".
More wastes of time
Worrying about the unfair competition:
Schnitzel Balm's Law:
In any educational institution an unworthy will be elevated for a term to an exalted position. This happens because teachers have the power to do so, and because the student(s) are oh so grateful. The less worthy the more grateful. The crash and burn of unsustainable expectations are not the teachers concern.
The Schnitzel Balm Syndrome:
If you are a "chosen one" enjoy the ride but remember that you are skating on quicksand. For a quick reality check please see Simon Cowell.
All About Phil
Upcoming Performances & Current Work
Reviews
About My Music
New Composition List
A reminder that all materials here are copyright © 2007 by Philip Fried, and permission is required to reprint in any form.
Comments: 0 Edit
Where did the great composers go?
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 08:01 AM
There was a time when we understood that in every generation there was a great composer, but that time seems long gone. There have been many theories about why composers are so absent from the public “scene.” One question that could be asked is this; what did the "great composer" do for society and who if anyone now fills that role? I propose that these composers functioned as the ombudsman of the imagination. Beethoven was one of them, perhaps the first of them, and for many he still fills that role. He understood something about our human condition that we knew about ourselves internally but that only he could seem to express to the world. People acknowledged it.
Some generalizations:
Beethoven is not thought of as self interested or careerist.
Even though he was not a leader in a composer’s society or guild, there was no shame or loss of status for other living composers who supported the notion that Beethoven (alive) was a better composer then they were.
His world view was not narrow.
Though he was not a writer of speeches, he maintained a public life.
He did not use gamesmanship or personal politics for advantage or to maintain his success.
He tried to make a difference in society with his music.
I'm afraid that the imagination is no longer honored in American society as we have replaced it with media. For every book we now know what every character looks like and how they speak-- and they just happen to talk and act like us. The popular music cartel (also part of the media)has managed to steal some of art music's thunder by focusing on its own alleged integrity and its many charitable works (though they have only recently been interested in music education). Though it is true that popular song can be a point of political galvanization, its the words that are the focus more than the music. Folk songs have no composer. Today, the artistic and financial survival of so many composers is predicated on working in a very narrow context. So they must reject having any appeal outside their own musical "ghetto."
Anyway, even if we all had open and unencumbered imaginations this doesn't sound like any composer we know today.
Comments: 1 Edit
The First Emperor
By: Philip Fried Date: Jan 13, 2007 - 05:20 PM
When I went to hear this work at the MET simulcast I was afraid that is was merely a political work--Chinese composers can come to American and find artistic success criticizing their old homelands and of course certainly not critiquing their new homeland.
Anyway, after hearing the work on the MET simulcast--I was a little shocked as this was not the work I was expecting. I was informed and had experienced Mr. Dun as an avant-garde composer and not as a reborn Ralph Vaughn Williams or Delibes with a couple of glissandos thrown in to keep up to date. I was shocked that he chose to sacrifice everything; text, scansion, drama, character, musical integration and content, in order to create constant big operatic moments and the cheap thrill of the high note. By the way, a story in which a composer bites the hand of his benefactor certainly is a fairy tale
Comments: 0 Edit
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Your blog can be viewed at http://classicallounge.com/Philmusic/blogs
a reply to Alex Ross
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 8, 2007 - 02:35 PM
Do I have to be tonal?
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
“my complaint about contemporary Austro-German music has to do with the self-imposed limits on language, the still powerful taboo against tonality.” A Minnesota composer just back from Latvia had a similar complaint. It seems that under Soviet “influence” composers there were not allowed to compose non-tonal music of any type and now that that influence was gone there was the natural reaction --everyone dumped tonality. Atonality was the forbidden fruit. Since I have not heard the music in question I can’t comment of the degree or type of reaction we are talking about. The world of the non-tonal is a huge umbrella encompassing many different styles some of them seemingly very consonant. Obviously, politics plays a much greater role in European music than in the United States, especial where nationalism and state support are a given. On the other hand aren’t you implying that to be an independent composer you have to be “tonal”? Isn't that just the same thing in a different guise? Can't I just be tonal in my spare time? Phil's page
Comments: -1 Edit
some post modern humor
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 08:07 PM
some humor
By philmusic - philmusic@aol.com philmusic@aol.com
Would a parcel-post composer be an overnight sensation? Would a post-toasty composer make us feel all warm and fuzzy? I apologize in advance. Phil
Tuesday, February 06, 2007, 11:33:05 AM
Comments: 0 Edit
Opera
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 03:03 PM
Phil's resume stuffer
Ok singers! I just composed an opera titled;
"Important Opera Houses in Europe and the United States."-It has 2 parts
The Prima Donna and Major Roles
So if you chose to be in my opera you can truthfully write in your resume that you Performed:
Major Roles in Important Opera Houses in Europe and the United States!
or
The Prima Donna in Important Opera Houses in Europe and the United States!
The score is available for perusal
Instrumentalists take heart!
I have many solo parts in my Opera!
A cursory look at these generalizations shows enough holes in the logic strings to make a Swiss cheese. Also, downtown sort of looks something like your typical Coke/Pepsi/Sprite advertising campaign. Obviously, in a commercial society art needs to advertise to appeal to its target audience. So what is this all about? Is it simply the new money audience verses the old money? Possibly. Is it an innocent way of “branding” a sound? Is it just a bunch of Alpha Males and Alpha Females gone wild?
Perhaps it's this -- many people, and composers in particular, seem to be hurt by the arts “system” that they don’t control; we don't get the respect we deserve in this country. When the big job or performance we wanted doesn’t come as planned, some of us need to assign blame. All composers fail at times, no matter who they are. The question is: what is your breaking point? I am always surprised at these self-described oppressed folks, who careers are unimpeded. They have big jobs, major awards, etc., but obviously there is a moral high ground to be had as an oppressed person that no amount of success or high position can gratify. It is not a surprise that there are always people who know how to take advantage of that discontent. Those who propose the downtown/uptown schism are saying "see, we are the real avant-garde.".
More wastes of time
Worrying about the unfair competition:
Schnitzel Balm's Law:
In any educational institution an unworthy will be elevated for a term to an exalted position. This happens because teachers have the power to do so, and because the student(s) are oh so grateful. The less worthy the more grateful. The crash and burn of unsustainable expectations are not the teachers concern.
The Schnitzel Balm Syndrome:
If you are a "chosen one" enjoy the ride but remember that you are skating on quicksand. For a quick reality check please see Simon Cowell.
All About Phil
Upcoming Performances & Current Work
Reviews
About My Music
New Composition List
A reminder that all materials here are copyright © 2007 by Philip Fried, and permission is required to reprint in any form.
Comments: 0 Edit
Where did the great composers go?
By: Philip Fried Date: Feb 6, 2007 - 08:01 AM
There was a time when we understood that in every generation there was a great composer, but that time seems long gone. There have been many theories about why composers are so absent from the public “scene.” One question that could be asked is this; what did the "great composer" do for society and who if anyone now fills that role? I propose that these composers functioned as the ombudsman of the imagination. Beethoven was one of them, perhaps the first of them, and for many he still fills that role. He understood something about our human condition that we knew about ourselves internally but that only he could seem to express to the world. People acknowledged it.
Some generalizations:
Beethoven is not thought of as self interested or careerist.
Even though he was not a leader in a composer’s society or guild, there was no shame or loss of status for other living composers who supported the notion that Beethoven (alive) was a better composer then they were.
His world view was not narrow.
Though he was not a writer of speeches, he maintained a public life.
He did not use gamesmanship or personal politics for advantage or to maintain his success.
He tried to make a difference in society with his music.
I'm afraid that the imagination is no longer honored in American society as we have replaced it with media. For every book we now know what every character looks like and how they speak-- and they just happen to talk and act like us. The popular music cartel (also part of the media)has managed to steal some of art music's thunder by focusing on its own alleged integrity and its many charitable works (though they have only recently been interested in music education). Though it is true that popular song can be a point of political galvanization, its the words that are the focus more than the music. Folk songs have no composer. Today, the artistic and financial survival of so many composers is predicated on working in a very narrow context. So they must reject having any appeal outside their own musical "ghetto."
Anyway, even if we all had open and unencumbered imaginations this doesn't sound like any composer we know today.
Comments: 1 Edit
The First Emperor
By: Philip Fried Date: Jan 13, 2007 - 05:20 PM
When I went to hear this work at the MET simulcast I was afraid that is was merely a political work--Chinese composers can come to American and find artistic success criticizing their old homelands and of course certainly not critiquing their new homeland.
Anyway, after hearing the work on the MET simulcast--I was a little shocked as this was not the work I was expecting. I was informed and had experienced Mr. Dun as an avant-garde composer and not as a reborn Ralph Vaughn Williams or Delibes with a couple of glissandos thrown in to keep up to date. I was shocked that he chose to sacrifice everything; text, scansion, drama, character, musical integration and content, in order to create constant big operatic moments and the cheap thrill of the high note. By the way, a story in which a composer bites the hand of his benefactor certainly is a fairy tale
Comments: 0 Edit
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